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Miguel Eyquem
Profesor titular, Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño, Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Valparaíso
Victoria Jolly
Alumna del Magíster Náutico y marítimo, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
palabras clave
Arquitectura en hormigón, prefabricación, hormigón armado, Ciudad Abierta, cast
E N G L I S H T E X T PAG E 6 5
E
sta es una construcción creativa que comenzó en 2002 con argamasa pesada y una membrana soportante que la contiene. La
la llegada a la Ciudad Abierta en Ritoque del arquitecto experimentación se ha centrado en la búsqueda formal a partir de
Mark West, quien residió por una temporada en ella junto la adecuada combinación de membranas y elementos rígidos. Lo
a su familia. Las primeras experiencias de West en Ritoque fueron novedoso aquí implica a lo menos dos dimensiones. La primera
artísticas: utilizó telas como contenedoras de argamasa para consti- es una nueva figura, su perfil y la continuidad de las superficies
tuir volúmenes escultóricos, que posteriormente fueron expuestos que necesariamente tiene, dado que se trata de cuerpos tridimen-
en la galería Storefront en Nueva York, Estados Unidos. sionales. La segunda es que estos cuerpos complejos se obtienen
Durante su estadía en la Ciudad Abierta, West planteó la posi- por medio de operaciones constructivas de relativa simplicidad.
bilidad de utilizar telas como contenedores del hormigón para ob- En otras palabras, el armado del encofrado y su llenado se realizan
tener nuevas formas arquitectónicas; en ese momento nos encon- en un breve periodo de tiempo, lo que se puede sintetizar en una
trábamos realizando la Mesa del Entreacto, un lugar al aire libre dimensión: bajo costo del encofrado y eficiente operabilidad en
para recibir a cien comensales. En el acto, levantamos junto a él relación con la forma compleja que se obtiene.
dos columnas de siete pies de alto y un asiento a ras de suelo, todo Estas operaciones constructivas se pueden aplicar en dos cam-
realizado con encofrados flexibles. Con eso comenzó una relación pos. Uno es el modo artesanal, donde cada pieza se realiza in situ
creativa que continúa hasta el presente. y puede constituir un ejemplar único. El otro es el de fabricación
A su vuelta a la Universidad de Manitoba en Winnipeg, industrial, donde cada elemento se repite un gran número de ve-
Canadá, West fundó cast (Center for Architectural Structures and ces, con lo que se logra una calidad garantizada, al mismo tiempo
Technology), un laboratorio dedicado al estudio y experimentación que un menor costo. A partir de la experiencia realizada con el
de los encofrados flexibles, que dirige hasta hoy y con el cual ini- arquitecto West, en Valparaíso hemos experimentado en ambos
ciamos una fecunda colaboración. campos El acento ha estado puesto en la realización de prototipos
a escala natural, verificables en un uso habitable, a diferencia del
moldajes flexibles: los métodos empleados laboratorio cast donde los modelos se cumplen en sí mismos. Esto
El empleo de membranas flexibles como encofrados para el hormi- lo advertimos ya que la Ciudad Abierta brinda la posibilidad de
gón es una metodología nueva que no tiene antecedentes notables realizar obras experimentales en verdadera magnitud. Además, con
en Chile. Tradicionalmente, los contenedores para argamasas líqui- la experimentación se comprueba la factibilidad de esta tecnología
das o semilíquidas –yeso, barro, hormigón– han sido fabricados con en nuestro medio.
materiales rígidos; desde los complejos moldes para metal fundido Así, la experimentación se inició con un decurso básico para
usados en escultura, hasta los encofrados rectilíneos usuales para el concebir el encofrado para una forma deseada. Esto suponía un
hormigón armado. Todos ellos gobiernan la forma definitiva de la periodo de indagación, donde se trabajó en el taller ensayando po-
argamasa por medio de un material que minimiza las deformaciones. sibilidades con el método de acierto y error, acumulando las con-
En los encofrados flexibles, la argamasa del hormigón es contenida dicionantes que conducían a una forma y corrigiendo lo que no se
por una combinación de elementos rígidos soportantes y una mem- deseaba; un trabajo con la forma que incluye el hallazgo. Una vez
brana que solo resiste tracciones. De este modo, al recibir la masa del obtenido un modelo satisfactorio, a escala y realizado en yeso, se
hormigón, la membrana la contiene y adopta automáticamente una realizó uno en hormigón y luego el prototipo a escala natural. Este
forma gravitacional. Este es un hecho mecánico que, en igualdad de último también puede ser verificado antes de realizar una prueba
condiciones, genera la misma forma y, por tanto, es gobernable. con hormigón, llenando el encofrado definitivo con arena. Ella se
La investigación en el laboratorio cast comenzó por indagar comporta de un modo muy similar al hormigón y permite confir-
cuáles son las formas posibles de obtener en esta combinación de mar la exactitud de la forma proyectada.
L E C T U R AS | R E AD I N G S 59
ma de momento de flexión. De este modo, el elemento estructural
El postulado básico que está detrás de esta responde a las solicitaciones previstas, pero no tiene más sección
que la que se requiere, por lo que resulta un elemento más liviano
investigación en conjunto entre la Escuela y económico. Por su parte, la sección variable se obtuvo con un
trazado a partir de un paño rectangular de geotextil, que se fijó a
de Arquitectura y Diseño de la pucv y cast un par de mesas, combinando de modo conveniente una estructura
rígida con la tela deformable. Esta operación constructiva simple y
es que los modelos a escala realizados de bajo costo permite obtener una forma compleja.
L E C T U R AS | R E AD I N G S 61
Corte de patrón en geotextil para encofrado de mesas en São Miguel das Missoes. Pattern cut Jardín en Garupá, Argentina, 2003. Garden in Garupá, Argentina, 2003
in geotextile for table framework in São Miguel das Missoes
Obra en travesía: mesas en una Plaza en São Miguel das Missoes, Brasil, 2006. Travesía work: tables in the Plaza of São Miguel das Missoes, Brazil, 2006
Obra en travesía, Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar, Chile, 2009. Travesía work, Pan de Azúcar National Park, Chile, 2009
Anfiteatro del Centro Cívico de Loncura, Chile, 2010 Cabe destacar la fecundidad que ha generado esta colaboración,
Obra concebida y realizada con elementos monolíticos de hormi- donde han concurrido las ventajas de dos centros de estudio: el
gón. Su forma y acabado obtenido con encofrados flexibles, en un laboratorio cast de Canadá y la Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño
proceso de fabricación industrial, garantiza una calidad homo- de la pucv, con el auspicio de la Corporación Amereida, que da
génea y economías de escala en su producción. La concepción de lugar a las obras en la Ciudad Abierta. Ha sido, finalmente, la obra
un mobiliario urbano en hormigón con estas características tiene la que ha permitido la real vinculación interdisciplinaria. [ARQ]
especial interés en varios sentidos: durabilidad material, no pre-
senta la fragilidad de la madera o los plásticos, es incombustible
y, debido a su masa, no es susceptible de ser empleado en actos
vandálicos. Su forma tiende a un todo armónico con el medio am-
biente al aire libre.
L E C T U R AS | R E AD I N G S 63
Bibliografía sugerida
palmer, Montserrat y Patricio mardones (eds.). Hormigón en obra. Ediciones arq, Santiago,
2009.
Storefront for art and architecture. Recuperado de http://www.storefrontnews.org/exhibitions_
events/all?t=445
cast: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cast_building/
David Jolly
Arquitecto, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 1977 y candidato al grado de doctor
por la Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona de la Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya. Es miembro y cofundador de la Ciudad Abierta de Amereida en Ritoque y coautor
de Travesías por América desde 1984 hasta hoy. Fue director de la Escuela de Arquitectura y
Diseño de la pucv entre 1998 y 2003 y decano de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de
la misma universidad desde 2006 hasta 2009. Actualmente es profesor titular en la Escuela de
Arquitectura y Diseño de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
Miguel Eyquem
Arquitecto, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 1950 y Doctor Honoris Causa, Pontificia
Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2009. Es miembro y cofundador de la Ciudad Abierta
de Amereida en Ritoque y coautor de Travesías por América desde 1984 hasta hoy. Su línea
de investigación incluye el ámbito de los sistemas constructivos, además de proyectos y
construcciones aeronáuticas. Actualmente es profesor titular en la Escuela de Arquitectura y
Diseño de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
Victoria Jolly
Arquitecta, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2007. Es miembro de la Ciudad Abierta
de Amereida en Ritoque; entre 2007 y 2008 fue profesora asistente de Taller Arquitectónico en
la Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño de la pucv. Actualmente es alumna del Magíster Náutico y
Marítimo de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
Anfiteatro del Centro Cívico de Loncura, Chile, 2010. Amphitheater of the Loncura Civic Center, Chile, 2010
T
his is a creative construction that begins in 2002 with the ing undesirables; it is work with the form that includes discovery.
arrival of the architect Mark West to Ciudad Abierta (Open Once a satisfactory scale-model is obtained in plaster, a scale model
City) in Ritoque, who resides there for a season together in concrete is made, and later the full-scale prototype. This last step
with his family. West’s first experiences in Ritoque are artistic: he also has a moment of possible verification before realizing a con-
utilizes fabrics as mortar containers to build sculptural volumes crete test, filling the definitive framework with sand: it behaves very
that were later exhibited in the Storefront Gallery in New York. similarly to concrete and verifies the accuracy of the designed form.
During his stay in the Open City West proposed the possibility of
using fabrics as containers of concrete to obtain new architectonic first collaborative experience
forms. In that moment we were building the Interval Table, an open- What began as a gesture of hospitality to West in 2002 with the
air place to receive 100 guests. In the act, we raised two 7-foot col- firsts tests was transformed in a field of investigation for this
umns and a seat at floor level, all realized with flexible framework: group of architects of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de
with this achievement a creative relationship began that continues Valparaíso School of Architecture and Design. The investigation
up to the present. begins by proposing a building that is basically built using concrete
With his return to the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, with flexible framework: the program is an atelier that has its origin
Canada, West founded cast (Center for Architectural Structures and in a poetic act in the dunes of the Open City. The architectural idea
Technology) a laboratory dedicated to the study and experimenta- is to suspend the building to achieve two simultaneous objectives:
tion of the flexible frameworks that he continues to direct today to barely touch sand so as to not destroy its natural extension (a
and with which we began a prolific collaboration. plus in itself) and to obtain a favorable resistance to earthquakes,
minimizing the energy that the hanging building would receive
flexible molds: the employed methods from the ground.
The employment of flexible membranes as concrete framework Mark West developed some scale models in his cast labora-
is a new methodology that has no notable precedents in Chile. tory in Canada, while the Open City team also built plaster and
Traditionally the containers for liquid or semi-liquid mortars (plas- concrete scale-models to master and adjust the technology of the
ter, earth, concrete) have been fabricated with rigid materials, from flexible framework that was received by means of drawings and
the complex molds for molten metal used in sculpture to the usual photos from Canada. Later the construction of full-scale prototypes
rectilinear molds for reinforced concrete. All of these govern the was tackled in a local industry. The basic premise behind this in-
final form of the mortar by means of a material that minimizes de- vestigation together with the School of Architecture and Design of
formations. In flexible framework, the wet concrete is contained by the pucv and cast is that the scale models realized with flexible
a combination of rigid, supporting elements and a membrane that framework maintain their form with minimal variations at full-
only resists traction. This way, upon receiving the mass of concrete scale; that is, it is possible to build that form obtained in a small
the membrane automatically adopts a gravitational force. This is a plaster model at a larger scale in concrete. The first form obtained
mechanical fact that, under similar conditions, generates the same is a column composed of four industrial prefabricated elements
form and is, as such, governable. that in 2003 was mounted on the dune, establishing its foundation
The investigation begins by testing what are the possible forms and the center that joins them to create a unified element.
in this combination of heavy mortar and supporting membrane that
contains it. The experimentation in the cast laboratory has centered second collaborative experience
on the formal search for the appropriate combination of membranes For the Atelier project we needed beams to cover spans that would
and rigid elements; the new element here implies at least two key make a platform over which the interiors would be raised. West
elements. The first is a new figure, its profile and the continuity of and his team designed a beam in 2004 with a variable section and
the surfaces it has, given that they are three-dimensional bodies. made a prototype in an industrial plant in Canada. Our team, with
The second is that these complex bodies are obtained by means of the collaboration of engineering specialists Luis Della Valle and
constructive operations of relative simplicity. In other words, the Jorge Carvallo, calculated a 12 m long beam with a variable sec-
reinforcement of the framework and its filling are made in a brief tion following the flexion diagram; this way the structural element
period of time, that which can be synthesized in one dimension: responds to the foreseen demands but does not have more section
L E C T U R AS | R E AD I N G S 65
than the required, resulting in lighter and more economical ele- at risk. The design and construction of elements support the body
ment. The variable section is obtained with a rectangle of geotextile in the middle of the garden: they are pauses and places for child
fixed on a pair of tables, conveniently combining a rigid structure recreation, of organic forms. This work was made during a Travesía
with the deformable fabric. This simple, low-cost building method by the second year studio with the collaboration of the architects,
obtains a complex form. Fernando Espósito and Claudio Villavicencio.
third collaborative experience Table for a Plaza in São Miguel das Missoes, Brazil, 2006
After obtaining the column and the beam, we can now raise a more It is the construction of a public space that allows the gathering of
complex element, a portico: a pair of beams suspended between the inhabitants of the former Mission with those who arrive, cul-
two composed columns. The company indherco facilitated its tural tourists that visit the place. The mayor and the tourist agents
installations and experience to obtain elements with industrial agree that a public table could initiate a relationship that up until
quality: 8 components of the columns and the two variable-section now has not had its own space. So, a cross-form table was built
beams were made at its plant. On this occasion, the flexible frame- using flexible framework in a week of work with the architecture
work proved its capacity for reuse: only one textile piece was used studio. Each section of the table is a monolithic element made with
for the 8 vertical elements and another for the two beams since a single concrete pouring. This work was made during a Travesía
casting over the framework –if laid horizontally– allows for the done by the fourth year architecture studio with the participation
fabric to be easily removed after setting. of the architects Patricio Cáraves and David Jolly.
For the mounting operation of these elements, the engineering team
made specifications and defined the corresponding steel cable; later a Place for a pause in the desert of Atacama, Chile, 2009
joint for regulating between the beam and the steel cable was designed This is an in situ design in the Pan de Azucar National Park con-
and built, to support the beams. They were successfully suspended sisting of volumes that, without interrupting the wildness of the
from the pair of columns, the situation in which the portico has been desert landscape, create a place to stop and receive the bodies for
since 2005. For the construction of a building with a suspended con- the contemplation of this singular extension. Due to the use of dry
crete structure, an artificial fiber cable unaffected by the corrosion of aggregates available on site, resulting textures and colors do not
the salty air of the coast must be found: the technical solution has not contrast with the natural environment.
yet been found and has detained the progress of the work.
Plaza de Gualliguaica in the Valle de Elqui, Chile, 2010
new collaborative experiences The recently moved and refounded the village of Gualliguaica (af-
In 2006, the School of Architecture and Design of the pucv held ter the construction of the Puclaro reservoir) has a site designated
a lecture-seminar where Mark West and the local docent team for a plaza that still lacks the character of an inhabitable place.
conducted demonstrative experiences of the variety of applications The Travesía that is done here raises the first elements that allow
for the flexible frameworks and their contribution to architectonic for pausing and remaining in the public plaza. Concrete seats are
form. That year a bulge wall was built forming part of the work of designed and built with a form obtained by flexible framework.
the Calzadas del Agua in Open City, giving form to a three-dimen- During one week, the fifth year architecture studio with the col-
sional element that includes volumes and forms within the wall laboration of the diploma project student Néstor López raises six
plan, achieved in a single pouring of concrete; with this experience elements that initiate the civil space; elements that, with its form,
the possibilities for flexible frameworks combined with rigid planes are posed on a sloped plan in the plaza giving it a first habitability
were diversified. in its useful dimension (a place to sit) as well as its visual dimen-
sion (the presence of a form in the space).
projections of concrete with flexible frameworks
This research team has made several monolithic elements in con- Coastal border Loncura Quintero, Chile, 2011
crete: urban furniture, civil works and donated works in the con- Located in the urban space of the central coast, between Quintero
text of the Travesías, trips around America given once a year by the and Loncura, this urban fixture – in project stage– was conceived
School of Architecture and Design of the Pontificia Universidad with flexible frameworks realized with the collaboration of the di-
Católica de Valparaíso, a moment when students and faculty mem- ploma project students Valeria Valenzuela and Felipe Gaymor. In it
bers undertake design-build collaborations on site. It is also fitting elements were designed to give form to the limit between path and
to highlight a virtue of this technology: specific to this is the use the beach of the Quintero bay; these monolithic elements cover
of a fabric that resists the liquid concrete until is sets. Today there the character of the urban fixture allowing for the proximity of
are high-resistance, low cost geotextiles on the construction market the bodies with its finished surface and at the same time make up
optimal for use as flexible frames. These textiles are characterized by a defense on the border. Each one is a concrete volume that does
their lightness making them appropriate for use in a business like not require steel reinforcement, guaranteeing its durability in high-
the Travesía, usually related to long-distance travel. corrosion environment due to the presence of the salty humidity of
And at the possibility of construction in different places we have the sea. Six different modules were designed that could be placed
counted on the collaboration of the Test Laboratory of the pucv by one after another, generating variations in the continuous figure of
means of the engineer Gabriela Palma Rojas, who had calculated the limit between the beach and the path.
the doses for each work in both Chile and abroad, guarantying the
quality of the concrete. Loncura Civic Center Amphitheater, Chile, 2010
A work conceived and realized with monolithic concrete elements: its
Furniture for a garden in Garupá. Posadas Misiones, Argentina, 2003 form and finishes obtained with flexible framework in an industrial
This project consists of horizontal and monolithic volumes that fabrication process, guaranteeing a homogenous quality and economy
constitute the furniture of the garden for a cafeteria for children of scale in its production. The conception of a concrete, urban fixture
Suggested bibliography
palmer, Montserrat y Patricio mardones (eds.). Hormigón en obra. Ediciones arq, Santiago, 2009.
Storefront for art and architecture: http://www.storefrontnews.org/exhibitions_events/all?t=445
cast: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cast_building/
David Jolly
Architect, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 1977 and Doctoral candidate for the
Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
He is a member and co-founder of the Amereida’s Ciudad Abierta in Ritoque and co-author of
Travesías por América from 1984 to present. He was director of the School of Architecture and
Design of the pucv from 1998 to 2003 and dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of
the same university from 2006 to 2009. He is currently professor in the School of Architecture and
Design of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
Miguel Eyquem Montaje de la columna compuesta en la duna antes del hormigonado del centro
Architect, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 1950 and Doctor Honoris Causa, Pontificia Mounting of a composed column in the dune before the pouring of the center
Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2009. He is member and co-founder of the Amereida Ciudad
Abierta in Ritoque and co-author of Travesías por América from 1984 to present; his research Desencofrado de un componente, columna compuesta
includes the area of constructive systems besides projects and aeronautical constructions. He is Removing component from framework, composed column
currently professor in the School of Architecture and Design in the Pontificia Universidad Católica
de Valparaíso. Desencofrado de viga de sección variable para pórtico en planta indherco, tercera colaboración
Removing beam from framework with variable section for portico in indherco plant, third
Victoria Jolly collaboration
Architect, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2007. She is member of the Amereida
Ciudad Abierta in Ritoque; between 2007 and 2008 she was assistant professor for architecture Montaje de pórtico en Ciudad Abierta, Ritoque, 2005
studios in the School of Architecture and Design of the pucv. Currently she is a student of the Portico mounting in Ciudad Abierta, Ritoque, 2005
Masters in Nautical and Maritime studies at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.
L E C T U R AS | R E AD I N G S 67